


Drabbles

by AmberAsters



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Castles, Cold, Dare, Death, Eyes, Ghosts, Hanahaki Disease, Healing, Ice, Isolation, Limbo, Loneliness, Lost - Freeform, Multi, Ocean, Princes, Sickness, Snow, Soulmates, Spicyhoney - Freeform, Stars, Swearing, Tag As I Go, Trapped, Underfell, Underwater, Winter, blizzard, cool magic, dying, dying early, kingdom - Freeform, kustard - Freeform, underswap - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:47:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24619342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmberAsters/pseuds/AmberAsters
Summary: A series of one shots, short stories, and random ideas that may only ever be one chapter, Basically all the ideas that didn't fit anywhere else. Tag as I go.
Relationships: Papyrus/Papyrus, sans/sans
Comments: 6
Kudos: 28





	1. Hanahaki Diesese Asters

It started young. As soon as you hit puberty young and you would start looking. Some were foolish, meeting another and staying together. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. Some searched endlessly for days, months, years until they found their match living happily ever after. Some didn’t and found it hard to breath.

Then there were some like him. Who didn’t care, just lived life. Didn’t care if a click of a button could now find his match. It wouldn’t matter anyway, because no one would match. He was unlovable, unwanted, untouchable. Those petals couldn’t convince him otherwise.

Even if his match was somewhere out there they wouldn’t want him, they would run for the hills. Honestly he was lucky to have the friends he did.

He coughed, those fucking petals falling from between his sharpened teeth and into his hand. No one questioned, no one stared. It was normal for everybody.

Of course that didn’t stop him from glaring at the thin blue petals. Asters, blue asters that were growing right out of his soul. All his life he was taught about the importance of flowers and their colour saying it would match your soulmate. He thought it was stupid because how could every pair have a different flower, everyone have a different colour? Yet they did and he had to stare at the offending cyan blue.

Once he had been told the meaning of the flower by some rando on the street. Patience, star, afterthought, love of variety, and many others for the flower. Stability, depth, and faith for its colour. Stupid so fucking stupid all of it. Why be born only to contract a disease that could kill you in a couple months to years, depending on how hard you take it or when your match died, falling like dominos to the ground. Stupid.

He slammed his drink back and placed it on the bar top, Grillby sending him a glare when the glass scrapped along polished wood. What did he care what the fire elemental thought, he was going to live a happy life with his honey, he had no right to judge a dead man.

“put it on my tab, would ya grillbz?” The purple flame sent him a finger, bright enough to convey his anger and Red to teleport himself to the street outside before he could taste a ball of fire. That was an experience he really didn’t want to tempt fate with again, his jacket was still slightly singed from the last time.

Stuffing his hands into his jacket pockets, he ducked his head lower as he slouched and trudged down the sidewalk past people comparing coughed up flowers. Others drunk and stumbling down the street with the first person they met, a trail of flowers following the both of them. They were close to their limit, not long from now and they’ll be likely decomposing under an avalanche of coloured flowers and blood.

He stifled another cough, petals floating softly into the air and blown away by the wind. The nice thing about asters were that they had tiny assed petals that came up easy, but he sure as hell wasn’t looking forward to when he coughed up another whole one that was a bitch. Stems attached were worse.

He could still remember when his brother coughed up his first petals, afraid of the orange coloured plants that bloomed from his bones. His disease taking over him much faster than average, and almost causing Red to have a heart attack out of fear of losing him too soon. Edge almost died, Red could still remember him short of breath and pale, dying and yet making an effort to find his match. He was lucky, found him in a bought of spewing flowers and him and his match now lived happily ever after. That didn’t mean they still didn’t carry the scars that almost dying of that stupid disease any more gone.

It’s why Red really didn’t care, how could he when every inch of bone was covered in greenery except a few places like his skull and hands, the fucking flowers were even blooming out of his shoes. He was surprised he hadn’t kneeled over and died yet, he had been like this for years, had been at his worst for years. There were points were he had been bed ridden and his healing brother had to look after him. Pathetic. He was fucking pathetic couldn’t even die of a stupid disease proper.

His toe dug into the side walk, a chill wind flying past him and ripping at his clothes. He screwed his sockets shut as the cold hit him, rasping in the cold air between his teeth and feeling it burn within his rib cage. Pain laced through his bones and he was suddenly caught in a bought of coughing. One hand covering his mouth as another gripped at his throat. Petals slipped between bones coated in red magic as the wind caught and blew them away, flowers over flowing his hand and into the sidewalk.

He didn’t really care though, the sweepers would be out later to clean them up along with every other petal that chose to cover the ground.

Pain laced like hot fire and a knee hit the ground. No one came, no one paid attention, they had their own flowers to worry about, seeing someone die wasn’t all that uncommon either.

But he wasn’t going to die never seemed to be able to do it right.

The coughing subsided and he stood, vines clutching tighter around his throat, a tickle in the back of his mouth. Fucking flowers.

~-~

He wheezed out a breath, flowers filling his mouth for the billionth time as he bent over and vomited. A hand rubbing soothingly at his back and the vomit converted to violent coughing and flowers and magic began to cover the bile covered flowers in the bucket.

He dragged in a ragged breath, his brother easing him back into the couch gently and his partner watching from across the room as they bit at their fingers in worry.

Edge checked up on him often, saying it was because he cared, but Red knew. He knew his brother was just waiting for the day Red wouldn’t pick up and he would come to find flowers overflowing empty clothes. So far he had just found Red surrounded by the fuckers and chocking on more.

Countless times had he been told to go looking, to find his match. Every time he ignored them and was spewing flowers the rest of the week. This time was no different.

“Brother please.” Edge actually begged, pain and hurt lacing every inch of his voice. It was horrible to watch as your brother died, as flowers fell from their mouth as common as swears fell from his own. He didn’t want to do that to Edge, he didn’t but he didn’t have much of a choice.

“no.” Edge’s head hung and Red watched as hands landed on his shoulders in silent support. Even if he did die, Edge would be well taken care of. “i’m sorry.”

~-~

He was at Grillby’s again, breath tight and bones aching. The flowers starting to creep between his metacarpals and up the back of his skull. Both an easy hide with a hood and a set of gloves. That still didn’t hide the blue petals littering the area around his chair and the asshole bartender from asking when he would pay his tab. That he better have it paid before he died. Fat chance.

The stool beside him squeaked and the monster dived out a wheeze. Out of the corner of his vision red petals floated to the ground. A drink was set and a cough of flowers.

“heh, ain’t this a _stigmaed_ situation?” Red glanced over at the voice, another skeleton sitting as he whipped blue from his teeth and chucked. “you could say i’m _pistled.”_ Red chuckled at the puns, sockets crinkling as another wave of coughing crashed into him.

A hand came up to steady him so much different from his brother’s.

“easy there man, here.” Red took the offered glass and chugged it back when the coughing subsided, breath coming out thick. “you okay?”

“no, being okay isn’t really my _style_.” The skeleton blinked a few times before filtering into strong laughter. Red joined him and they both began to cough violently, petals flooding the counter and floor.

“the names sans.” The skeleton offered his hand after the attack had passed and Red took it readily chuckling brokenly.

“red.” They shook hands and Red’s eyes trained on the flower peeking up over the hem of Sans’s shirt. A bright red aster. Sans followed his eyes when his hand wasn’t released before his eyes flashed over to the petals and few blue flowers littering the floor.

“heh, didn’t think my other half would be so edgy.” Red snapped his eyes up to the skeleton before him, breath short. This was his match. He actually had one. He had a match. He felt his soul skip a beat before he was coughing again, pain lacing every inch of him.

There were hands on him, flowers and blood leaking from him and he was confused. Why was it like this? He found his match, the flowers should be falling away now and instead he was attempting to cough up his non-existent lungs.

Maybe it was because he still believed his match would run for the hills.

He felt Sans’s panic, heard it in his voice along with confusion. People and monsters buzzing around them, he felt Grillby’s heat. People died all the time, but it was not heard of for them to die of hanahaki after the found their match. Something was wrong, so very wrong, and of course it must be him.

~-~

His brother was there when he woke up under the scratchy cotton sheets. Sans there as well, holding a hand tightly but looking on in indifference as if Red dying wouldn’t kill him as well.

“how bad?” They both jumped at his rasped words, Sans gripping his hand a bit tighter and he faintly noticed how his bones took on a scaly look. Like they were ready to flake away. Maybe he was actually dying for once.

“They think you might die, that you should already be dead.” Edge suppled as he looked over a freaked Sans who sat flowerless. Red’s own hand coated in bright blue flowers. Those stupid fucking flowers.

He pulled his hand from Sans’s weakly and to everyone else’s horror pulled on the flowers on his hand and ripping. Pain shot through his system and there were two much stronger pairs of hands pulling his hands away, but the pain still remained and a flower fell to the bedside broken. Red struggled.

“Brother stop!” Edge growled as he held an arm down, Sans holding the other to his chest as magic leaked from the new hole in the bone. Red took one look at his face and stopped. He just stopped and broke down.

“why, why can’t I just be happy? just be without these cursed plants?” He sobbed, breath hitching on petals and a knot in his throat.

To be truthful at one point Red did look, he looked so hard and completely then he fell in love. He fell in love with someone he couldn’t have, who he had to watch die and he could do nothing. They didn’t love him and if they did maybe the both could live without this stupid fucking flowers, maybe they wouldn’t have died.

“edge could you give us a moment?” Red could feel his brother hesitate before pulling away from his arm and leaving the room. Sans stood in silence for a moment before stiffly pulling a sobbing Red into his chest. His had stroking the back of his flower littered skull.

He felt... loved, but he still couldn’t believe it. Not even with this stable patience before him.

“red.” The voice was low and comforting, strong. “who ever hurt you is so wrong, so very wrong.”

Red’s shoulders tensed, but a light caress of Sans’s hand soothed it away. Sans was reading him some how he could feel it. He was an open book to him.

“i may not know you very well yet, but with one look i can tell you’ll be worth loving, worth everything my soul has to give.” Red sobbed harder, clutching at Sans’s shirt staining it red with his tears, the general hand never stopped running over his skull. “i’m not going anywhere.”

Red felt his pain lessen, vines wilting and falling away from his bones. His breath becoming smoother, his tears drying. He felt loved and somehow he was believing it.

True to his word Sans never left and Red never had to deal with those cursed flowers again. Never had another reason to cry.


	2. Underwater Pt. 1?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Stretch almost drowns and it saved.

Stretch supposed he should have known this was a stupid idea before he took the dare. Should of taken the old saying of chilled to the bone to heart and listened to those who told him he shouldn’t do it. However, Stretch was stubborn, he always was and always had been and really it should of held. Should have been fine, but someone had to go and ruin it.

He was cold, unbelievably so. Head full of ice water and his bones were shaking but he couldn’t hear a sound. There we bubbles so many bubbles floating past him, but he couldn’t move. Shock settled in fast and his heavy clothes weighed him down.

He was just supposed to walk out and jump, a little hop and go back. He did the math, it should of held, but he fell through. He remembered screaming and his own struggling for a shortcut, then a teeth clenching cold, it happened so fast he barely realized what happened until his mind was numb and he fully thought about the humans that made the dare. Sabotage he was sure and now he would dust here where his brother would never access his remains.

His eyes felt heavy dipping low in the shadowed water, the only light from the hole above. He could almost say it was kinda pretty, the way the bubbles shined or how the ice seemed to glow. He could live with this…. Well, die with this and he guessed he would be happy so long as the others kept Blue from jumping in after him. Bones didn’t float after all.

Stretched let his eyes slip a little more closed, the feeling in his bones slipping away with every bit of distance. Blue was slipping away, life, home. Slowly it was fading away, and a face was appearing before him. One with shinning teeth and glowing eyes. Death was coming and he would accept it.

~-~

Stretched cracked open his sockets, bones tight and sore, sight bleary. There was a dull light coming from somewhere casting shadows over the roof and the corner he was laid in. He was on something soft, something equally so draped over him and after a moment he realized his bones were bare under the blanket.

He forced his head to the side looking out over the room and saw a glowing rock nestled in the corner. He blinked slowly, weak and really looked at the room. It was warm and slightly humid, walls made of stone, bed of furs. He was somewhere with someone. He wanted to get up and look around, but sleep was quick to pull him back in.

~-~

Rus was cold, so very cold. His bones shivered until they clacked, teeth chittering and eyes squeezed shut. The fur blankets was gone and the room and fallen cold and dark. He thought of getting up of finding warmth, but he was tired and the shivering sapped his energy away. Not to mention his magic was barely accessible.

He couldn’t get phenomena or anything, but his magic would be stinted for awhile until he slept and healed up. Food would help, but he was too tired to look.

He suddenly heard a deep growl and through squinted sockets light started to emit from the rock again, warmth seeping into the room and his bones. A dark figure approached and he was covered by warm cloth and pulled up into an equally warm and hard chest, his fingers clutching at worn fabric.

“who…?” He muttered out as a gloved hand ran over his face, pulling down his sockets and sending him to sleep.

~-~

The next time Stretch rosed all that was on his mind was food, preferably honey. He wasn’t sure how long it had been since he last ate, since he last woke up, but he knew he was hungry. He also knew he had more energy than before.

He pried his eyes open fully, blinking to get use to the light and sight again. His bones still ached with cold, but he still sat up allowing for the furs to pool into his lap and the humid air to kiss his bones. His arms shaky but stable and magic begging for substance.

He glanced around the room first noting what was seemingly a desk and a table across from that. Little trinkets and poorly bound books covering the surfaces. He noted the glowing rock in the corner, cascading dim light across the room as some kind of makeshift lamp. Another hung from the roof but was cut out and Stretch realized the glowing one was emitting both heat and magic. His next observation was the stack of his clothes folded neatly and placed on the desk chair.

He pushed himself to his feet and immediately stumbled and grasped onto the chair. Bones clattering once again. He ignored it all and pulled on his clothes with difficulty, the cloth smelling of saltwater and seaweed. Neither of which were currently good smells in his book.

There was a tunnel leading out of the room and he had to pause a moment. Where was he anyway? Was he dead? Alive? Was the person he was with dangerous? No he would have been dead or freezing then. How did they save him? Were they going to use him?

He suddenly heard footsteps and for a brief moment he considered hiding or going under the furs, but he was dressed so they would know he was awake anyway. A dark shadowed figure stepped into the room, nothing but black and a glowing red pool in the place of eyes.

“Awake.” A rough voice growled and they stepped forward reaching out and Stretch immediately stepped back and stumbled over his own feet. He pitched backwards and into the bed of furs the figure staring at him light flickering slightly.

“sorry, i… who are you?” Stretch croaked as he sat up, and the figure straightened.

The figure cocked his head to the side, light flicker as if they blinked. “…Edge.”

“i’m stretch.” Stretch went to stand again, but stopped when Edge let out a growl that had him staying put. “okay, okay i’m sitting… ah so do you have any food?” He questioned when his stomach snapped at him about his hunger.

Edge titled his head again and his cloak shuffled a bit before a gloved hand reached out and offered him some dried meat. Stretch took it and took a bite finding it to be fish meat and not half bad.

“thank you edge.” Stretched offered him a smile feeling much better with just a bit of food in his system. Without even so much as a warning Edge turned and left the room.

Stretch stared for a moment wondering if he was supposed to follow or not. He might be able to if he used the wall for support, but he really didn’t know if that was the right thing to do. He wasn’t familiar with this person not their home and they also were less… modern than everyone else. He could tell they were a monster just by the magic and glowing eye, but he had never seen anything similar besides perhaps the Riverperson from Tale. He could also remember every monster from his own Underground and none looked like that. So that lead to the conclusion of him being dead, the monster is from another universe, or they were never Underground to begin with.

The figure stepped back into the room and offered a red baggie over to Stretch. He quickly took another bite of his fish jerky before accepting it and pulling it open. A variety of berry like objects sat inside. Stretch had never sen anything like it before, but they looked good and Edge was watching him again with one glowing eye.

“thank you for the food.” Stretch picked up one of the red ones that looked like a mix between a raspberry and an orange maybe. They all looked like weird combinations of fruit and half of them Stretch didn’t know if he would have to peel them of just eat them straight. He decided to focus on the jerky for now on and set the berries aside for later. “oh right! and thank you for saving me as well.”

“Safe.” Edge nodded and sat down at the desk facing Stretch, face still shadowed by his cloak.

“you don’t talk much do you?” Edge tilted his head for a moment before shaking it and stretch had to wonder if that was a no I don’t or no I usually do. “well could you at least tell me how I could get home?”

“Home.” A buzz seemed to come from Edge and Stretch watched as he pointed up. “Home?”

“where you found me, my home is above that, yes.” There was a clicking sound next that Stretched identified as teeth being clicked together and then silence.

Edge shook his head. “No home.”

“what do you mean no home?” Stretch narrowed his eyes, felling a confirmation that he was perhaps dead, that or he wouldn’t be able to leave.

Edge stood again, gesturing with his head and made towards the door. He paused and looked back at Stretch.

For a moment he considered not following, but he felt this would be the best way to get answers on his current predicament. So he got up and followed slowly as to not trip and fall on his face.

They moved down a winding cave tunnel, gems glowing to aluminate the air much like Waterfall had. Everything was made of rocks even the shelves and cupboards seemed to be, and Stretch noted that there wasn’t a single door. There were just tunnels that tapered off and opening in the walls that held things.

Up ahead Stretch noticed a glow and that pattern water makes when light shines through it. The source soon being reviled when they walked into an open room with what Stretch could only guess we're couches. It was well lite with soft white light and decorated with varying sizes of shells, one wall covered in different kinds of shell… weapons?

Though what caught Stretch’s eye the most was the wide window that took over the one wall and part of the roof. It had to have been made by crystals or clear quartz, and was completely natural if the edges of it had anything to say. However, that wasn’t even the biggest thing it was what had laid beyond that.

Water, lots of water. Fish flicking by the windows, thousands of light past that as they shone from other windows. There were whales and eels, creature that glowed with bioluminescent. Everything was glowing every different colour of the rainbow and it all reflected against his skull as a cascade of colour.

“Stretch home.” Stretch glanced over at Edge who was point up, into the water where it turned darker and darker as it got farther and farther from this city. Edge said his home was past that.

He was very much alive and trapped again. His brother would think he’s dead, they’d be having a funeral for him and he wasn’t sure if he would every be able to ask them how it was. He couldn’t breath Underwater he would die trying to return home… but.

“but didn’t you get me from there, can’t you bring me back?” Stretch felt slight panic, if he had died he could have accepted it and moved on, but he was alive and his brother thought he was dead. Everyone thought he was dead, and he didn’t think he would be able to shortcut back.

Edge shook his head again and this time lead him over to a wide table at the side of the room. It looked like some kind of calendar following a cycle he didn’t recognize. Edge tapped on a symbol and pointed at Stretch.

“Safe.” So the day he got here. Edge then moved his finger across the calendar to another symbol. “Here.” So today, now. That looked like a pretty long time. Edge’s finger moved one again much farther away, almost halfway across the calendar. “Leave.”

“so i can’t leave till then?” He watched as Edge gave a sharp nod and felt dread settle then. “how many days is that?”

Edge tilted his head again and his teeth clacked. “Many.”

Stretch was stuck here, he was stuck in this underwater prison until what ever day that needed to come and everyone thought that he was dead. He had thought that he was dead.

“Stretch safe.” Stretch looked over at Edge and they reached out and brushed a tear from his eye. Stretch watch as the light narrowed and Edge looked away. “Stretch will get home.”

Stretch couldn’t do anything but believe him.


	3. Limbo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The limbo ghost has sass.

Sans could only stare. Of course what else was there to do when you were in a wide expanse of blankness? Not like had any motivation to look around. He might have been curious enough at some point, but not right now, not right after he just died. Even in death he was tired.

Maybe he should just sit, just be glad that Papyrus wasn’t standing here beside him. Why couldn’t he just be glad? Right the human would reset and they would start over. They would get to the surface and then Frisk would attempt to make sure they weren’t any where near where he died. Then something will happen and they’ll reset. Endless, pointless, meaningless.

“Your early.”

Sans snorted. When was he ever early, and when did he lay down? What did it matter? It didn’t. No fuck left to give here. He would just wake up when this was all beginning again and maybe this time he just wouldn’t get out of bed. Maybe he would just wake up and dust.

“Your not supposed to be here yet.”

No? Then why was he? Why was every other time just right and yet so much earlier? What made this different? Because he was hit by a truck? Because he saved someone? Geez, here he thought it might be his charming personality.

“Get up, your not staying here.”

How about… no. He was quite fine with just laying here and napping. Waiting for a reset that was bond to happen soon. He was sure the kiddo would after seeing him dust on impact. Heh, at least the other person was a-okay. He was a bit worse for wear.

“Oh for the love of-.”

Sans was suddenly standing, a weird glow coating his body. It was forcing him to stare at his visitor, what could only be death.

“I’m not death thank you very much.” The figure said looking him over and floating around him real quick. “I’m more of… the limbo ghost… yeah not the best name for it, but anyway, I greet souls if Death can’t get to them at the exact time of their demise, make sure you don’t wonder.”

So he was dead, but not. Lovely, was he going to be a ghost now?

“No your not, cause your going back, that human doesn’t plan to reset and quite frankly we don’t have room for you yet.”

Well wasn’t that an interesting tidbit of info. The kid doesn’t plan to or they can’t? Both answers had their perks and their down sides. On one hand the kid could be keeping their promise for once or they could just hate him specifically. On the other hand there would be no more resets ever, but… no there wasn’t any down side to that.

“what do you mean i’m going back?” It was an honest question, one that the floating blob of blue didn’t seem to be concerned about. Like they had done it a million times before and really? Maybe they have.

“Your going back, no room for an extra unplanned soul, you shall live again and all that jazz, but don’t test your luck once you get back we only return unplanned souls back once even ones with terrible humour.”

“okie, next question, how do you plan to put me back, kinda currently spread across the street as a grey smear.”

“Don’t you worry about that, just worry about the in between, I hear it can be a bit… unpleasant.” They raised a glowing hand.

“wait-!” He teleported.

  
{}-{}

Summoning blasters was instinct after what he just witnessed, next was coughing up and unhealthy amount of dust. Stars it felt like he had been hit by a truck, and man didn’t he. That was a big truck, monster truck was what that was, front still coated in his-

More coughing, was that his life now? Cause if it was you could just go and end it again for him, thanks.

“SANS!” Pain rippled over him as he was tackled and met with a very dusty red scarf. The blasters didn’t dissipate, if anything they became more alert. Every reason to, if your little brother was covered in dust you would be worried too. Though of course if he really thought about it, which he didn’t want to, it was probably his dust.

“bro, time, can’t breath very well.” Papyrus barely let up just enough to breath and Sans was looking over his shoulder at about a hundred shocked faces, he really didn’t care to count. Either way they were shocked and rightly so. No one came back from dust. For no reason. Unlike humans you can’t restart monster hearts or a machine will help. Dust was dust and there was no pulling it back together unless you apparently died to early that was.

“Sans?” Sans’s eyes caught just about each one of his considered family. Each more seemingly shocked than the last. Though Frisk was shying away. Oh right his blasters were still up and his eye was glowing. He blinked it away and just held onto Papyrus a bit tighter instead.

“hey guys, sorry ‘bout the mess, but the limbo ghost says hi and to not send me back until its my time cause my humour is tear-able.” Suddenly there were more arms, more tears, but his brother was the only thing he really cared about. His silent tremors and tears. The nightmares that came for them both in the weeks after. The fact he didn’t want to drive his car for months.

Both of them wound have to come to terms with this to learn to get over it. Sure Sans has died before and came back, but now with the possibility of it it being finalized was a new feeling. Then Papyrus never lived long enough to see Sans die and that was even if he knew in the first place. So this was new for the both of them. Would continue to be new, but they would get use to it. They would heal. They would be just fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just me going extremely of topic of a prompt I was trying to use. This has nothing to do with walls or bird song so idk how it turned out this way.


	4. Snowed In part 1.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If there were kingdoms and Stretch was alone in his and Edge and his crew stumble into it.

Stretch stared out at the endless expanse of snow. Completely and utterly endless. When was the last time he saw grass, or the sun? He couldn’t remember, couldn’t remember anything past this endless blizzard. Maybe because that's all there ever seemed to be.

There were three seasons here, winter, slightly less cold winter, and freeze you toes off winter. Currently it was the last.

He had read once in one of the many books within the library that the land had been warm and green once. That the cliff they sat on was once full of flowers and they looked upon rolling fields of waving grass. That they're wasn’t a frozen lake in the valley they over looked and a town use to bustle right at it’s shore.

Then there was the ice storm and no one had seen the sun since. The people of the town moved away and it was lucky enough that a bit of magic supplied enough food for the residents of the castle. Which currently was just him, part of the royal family to this once lush home.

He sighed, standing from the window sill and turning, robes of whites and light oranges swirling around his feet as he walked down the empty halls. Cobblestone flooring cold against his bare feet and the blanket he had over his shoulders dragging.

When he was younger the castle had been bustling with monsters, cooking, cleaning, gardening, finding ways of making sure everyone was safe and warm. Then they left and Blue started to cook and clean and garden. His father sending letters and going over documents and using his magic to keep the safe from the winds and the freezing air. Then they left and he was left to walk like a ghost through the castle halls.

Heh might not be far off.

He took the stairs down two at a time, the blanket over his shoulders flying like a cap as he jumped onto a banister and slid the rest of the way down. A small smile fitted over his teeth as a chill wiped past his face and he shot forward, flying slightly before getting his feet under him as he hit the ground. His body taking that momentum and spurring him forward and down one of the long, window filled halls. Whips of windy snow blurring past it in a constant flare of a deadly promise.

The halls echoed with his steps, small sparks of his magic falling across the floor as he practiced his magic around him in the empty halls. Then his feet caught, blanket dropping and robes falling as he tripped and stumbled forward, falling into the door at the end with a gasp for breath. Silent hysterical giggles leaving him as he just pressed against a chilled door, his breath sending clouds before him.

If only he hadn’t went out, maybe then he would have returned to his family and not an empty castle.

He pulled himself up on shaky feet, eyes casting out into the storm that was raging. The beaten up town so far below barely visible through the storm. Just the clock tower that was crumbling and tiny tops of buildings. A tiny town that he had ventured to only the once, trying to find where his family had gone only to have to hide within a battered home to out wait a storm. He realized he wouldn’t be able to leave then, that he’d die trying. He was to weak and sick to brace such a storm, he stayed and he was alone.

He jumped as he heard a loud creak fill the castle, the wind howling and yells before a slam. Maybe he wasn’t so alone after all.

He opened the door he had been leaning on slowly, his feet carrying him out of the hall quietly and into a new hall in which he followed until he reached the grand staircase, hiding behind a wall as he looked down at the new arrivals. How they got here he wasn’t sure, not in this storm anyway, but their were a number of them dusting snow from their clothes and directing each other to do things.

Let's see, there was a fish monster who was bundled up in more furs than he had seen in a while, with a lizard beside her just as covered if not more. Then there were two ghosts of all things and a flame monster. Though the two that really caught his eye was the two skeleton monsters, the one barking out orders and the other stuffing gloved hands in his pockets.

He jumped when the one barking orders whipped his head in his direction and almost caught him. Ohh it was silent now, that really wasn’t good. He pulled at the dregs of his magic, feeling his soul complain at using so much at once before he was in the tower he had started in again, barely catching sight of a foot at the top of the step before he was gone.

Slowly he sunk to the floor, soul crying at the abuse he put it through. Usually he could teleport just fine, did it normally, but not right now. Not when he had just been practicing patterns, when it was so cold, when he was barely there.

He leaned his head against the still, staring at his hands which shimmered in the dim light. Eyes fussy as he slipped into sleep, hoping against hope that they wouldn’t think to search the castle.

~-~

Edge stood at the top of the stairs and looked down the empty hall. He was sure he had seen a flash of white up here watching them. Then again the snow and cold, could have made him delusional. They had been out in it from weeks, and it was only by luck they found this place and didn’t walk right over the cliff it sat on.

He had heard of this place a couple times, mostly from past residents who had flooded to the Fell country to seek refuge from the biting winter that took over the lands. Then years ago the royal family finally emerged weary and tired and mourning. The only reason they were even in this blasted cold was to find a safe root to the mountains so they could start harvesting the resources there as the Swaps had promised them on their arrival and over letter, a treaty being written. Though he was starting to think it was a fools errand with how hard the storms were that hit them.

He turned then and headed back down the stairs two at a time to the little group that was watch him. All of them tense as he stepped back into the group. “Undyne, Alphys try to find a room further in to hunker down in, and while your at it look for anything you can find to burn, Grillby go with them and cook us something warm to eat, Napstablook and Mettaton can you look for anything of use, blankets, tools, anything of that sort, Red you and me are going to take a look around.”

The group nodded at their new orders before fanning out and leaving the two brothers behind, Edge’s eyes flashing towards his brother. “you saw it too boss?”

Edge nodded silent and then gestured at his brother to take off at well, while he climbed the stairs he had a moment before. Turning down the hall the white had disappeared behind and following the twist of halls to a wider one, large windows showing the storm outside and a blanket on the floor.

He cautioned over to it, picking it up from the floor and holding it up. At the cleanliness of every other halls he so far passed through, he couldn’t possibly imagine why there would be a blanket lying in the middle of one. Not unless it had been left here in a hurry. It was then that Edge noticed the faint whiff of recently used magic in the air. The smell recent. It smelt sick.

He glanced around the room in search of anything that could tell him where the current inhabitant of the castle posssiably was, but nothing stood out to him, nothing was there.

“boss?” He turned to look over at his brother behind him, throwing the blanket neatly over his arm as he waited for him too continue. “i think i found something interesting.”

~-~

When Red had said something interesting, he didn’t think he was talking about a library much deeper in the castle walls, but it was. Piles upon piles of books, dirty dishes, a mattress sitting on one corner of the floor with a single pillow and a slew of blankets and furs. Though what Red approached was a desk piled with papers and maps. A map of the surrounding area.

The castle and town were marked along with the mountains they were trying to reach, but what confused him most was a neat little circle surrounding the castle, cutting through half the town and part way into the mountain on the other side of the castle. A scribble of intelligible writing slurred across the page and what looked to be equations filling another stretch of parchment beside it, diagrams and more scribbled words.

“What’s this?” He lifted the map slightly turning it and noting the paths that lead to any where important, the few scribbled lines that were marked with x’s.

“don’ know, though those are some pretty complex equations.” Red picked up the other paper and scanned it over trying to make the chicken scratch eligible in his own mind. “that and there’s a quill that had been used not long ago over there.”

Edge set the map down in turn to look at what Red meant, then the mess that was between two book cases. “Someone is here.”

“question is where.”

They would have to look, have to figure it out before they were attacked or something else, and if the occupant wasn’t violent, figure out why and how they were still here. For now they would find the others and tell them what was going on and figure out a game plan to both get to the mountain and find this occupant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kinda just had the image of a castle is a snow storm that Stretch was looking out of, and this is were my brain took it.


	5. Snowed In Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The continuation of snowed in

Stretch blinked awake slowly, trying to crack his sockets open despite the ice that frosted them shut. He could both hear and feel the shivering that rattled through his bones at the chill that had settled over him. The air nipping at his toes and causing him to pull his feet a little closer to his shivering form.

He needed food, and oh he _had_ to find the last dregs of magic to charge up the heating crystals in the basement. Food first though, food and figuring out where the guests were so he didn’t run into them.

It wasn’t so much that he wanted to alone, to not have someone to talk to, stars no. It was more because they would ask questions. They would try to get him to leave and he _couldn’t._ Then there was the fact he didn’t know what kind of monsters and didn’t, couldn’t handle anything malevolent right now. Only had enough to maybe heat the castle and to give to his plants. Nothing else.

He shifted, pulling himself to numb legs and staggering slightly. It was cold in this tower even when the crystals were fully charged, but he liked to sit up here and watch the world. Like the blizzard that had calmed down while he slept and was now just a harsh wind pushing snow around. That meant less magic to heat the castle. Small mercies for him.

He exited slowly and with nothing but caution as he descended the stairs and into a hall he had been in not long before. All his stuff was in the library, his garden in the greenhouse just outside the kitchen and then the crystals were just below that. Course all of that was all the way on the other side of the castle and that meant there were a slew of places his visitors could be if they were still here.

Creeping slowly down the halls, he listened carefully for voices and felt his anxiety rise with every step. Sure he knew the castle well, but it was big and twisting. The whole thing could be a sort of maze if you weren’t from the castle or had Stretch’s ability to teleport. Knowing where the secret passages were also helped.

He slipped into a wall quickly, now taking less cation in hurrying down the tunnels to the garden. He always tended to them first, he could deal with a little cold if it meant losing his whole garden, though he would have to be carful this time. He wouldn’t know if anyone would be in the garden or if it had even been found and if so, hoped to the stars it hadn’t been completely pillaged. It would take days for anything to grow new harvest and he couldn’t afford that.

He slowed as he approached the door to the garden. Breath running ragged and his body exhausted from the journey, but at least he had warmed up from the run. His bones a little less achy with cold and frost. Though it left an uncomfortable wetness to his bones that was much like a cold sweet he could really live without.

First he pressed himself against the door and just listened, when that showed no merit he peeked through one of the watch holes that he use to tell his brother were for spies of the castle. So they could learn of any nefarious plans that others may of held, had monsters stationed at every spy hole, and his brother easy believed him and was much more nervous around where he knew the little holes were.

Of course Stretch couldn’t see anything now, and as such stepped out into the garden. The entrance stayed open behind him as he glanced around the still intact garden before infusing some of his magic into a faintly glowing stone beside him until the room turned humid and light filled the room. Some of the plant perking at the artificial sunlight and water that now permitted the air.

With a jerk he was behind the door again, staring out the peek hole as he heard voices approach. Two figures entering the room. One being the fire monster that he had seen and the other being a short skeleton who was glancing around the room.

“‘ell this is handy.” The skeleton grumbled, picking up a random seed pail and looking inside. “take only what we need, no use in desecrating the supplies, ‘specialy when someone was kind enough to just take care of them for us.”

The short skeleton was suddenly looking at where he was, and Stretch flinched back with a sharp gasp. Oh god did he know he was there, did he see him, he had to leave, leave now and go to the crystals. No one would be able to get into there and it was warm. He could avoid them for a while yet and maybe come back up later for that food. For now he had to stay hidden because it sure as hell seemed like they knew he was somewhere either way.

~-~

Edge looked up when Grillby and Red entered the room again, a pail of vegetables carried along and a small bundle of preserved meats. Both of which Grillby began to start preparing into a meal as soon as he was close enough to the fire that was started.

“think our little occupant was spyin’ in on us today.” Red smirk as he sat down, glancing around their little group then the map Edge had borrowed from the library and was trying to figure out routes to the mountain on.

“What makes you say that?” He began to outline a road in magical ink as a possibility, but that was if it wasn’t snowed in or the could clear it.

“found this little greenhouse, fresh magic and i felt eyes in the walls.” Edge huffed at that, Eyes in the walls? That would only be possible if there were secret passages in the castle and that Gaster fellow had assured him there were none. Though when did he trust people lightly.

“Do you-“ Edge’s words were cut off as light start to fill the room from glowing crystals in the walls and ceiling. The whole room heating with the orange glow of the magic swirling inside. The need for clothes and the fire soon being made obsolete in the warmth. “Well, that’s different.”

The others were also looking around at the glowing rocks, feeling that same sick magic fill the room and made them uneasy. For who ever currently occupied the castle must have been powerful to heat and light the rooms. Even then, despite how strong this monster supposedly was they were emitting a fowl, sick magic. They were sick and if the were violent Edge would make sure they wouldn’t live to breath another moment.

For now, however, he was going to remove some of these blasted furs and enjoy the warmth and the stew that the purple elemental had started.

“Tomorrow if it’s nicer we try some routes, if not, we try to search out the keeper of this castle and handle it as needed.”

The others looked at him with steal in his eyes and conviction. After all, despite how harsh their kingdom was, every man was loyal to their crown prince.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably will do a chapter or two more for sure, this might become a story of it's own and I'll have to make a separate file for this at some point though.


	6. Starfall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Red has Sans, and that's all he really needs

_Every time I saw you a new star appeared in my world, soon enough I was walking on a trail of star dust and holding nebulas in my hands. All because of you, all because you decided to stay when no one else did._

Red gripped at his drink a bit harder as another person commented on he choice in clothing. He was wearing something other than red. So what? It didn’t mean anything, his beloved jacket was confiscated for cleaning day and he just didn’t want to wear any of his old ratty shirts. So what? He could go shopping, he could wear something other than his namesake. It wasn’t that abnormal.

“change of clothes?” Or maybe it was.

He gave a grunt of confirmation as he downed the rest of his drink, waving Grillbz over to fill it yet again for him. If he had to deal with this shit again, he was getting drunk and never changing again. He’s brother might try to skin him alive, but he really couldn’t care at the moment. This was annoying.

“you look good.” Or maybe it wasn’t.

“really?” He shot Sans a dumbfounded look, as he pulled on the green shirt. “don’t think i have a thin’ for gryftmas with all tha greens an’ reds?”

“nah, you’d have a thing for blood on grass, before gryftmas.” Sans sat on the stool beside him, legs dangling as he accepted an offered ketchup bottle. Red was almost certain there was a shot of something in that.

He snorted. “yeah, probably.” Another shot and he slumped over the counter. “anyway, i thought you were out with tha others?”

“was, but it was boring.” Sans swung the stool around, receiving a glare from Grillbz, but getting a good view of the bar around him. “you weren’t there.”

Red shuttered over a breath, hiding it with a well placed shrug and sip of his drink. “no one invited me, not even tha blue ball.”

“may i remind you, that you left the group chat?” Sans closed an eye as he looked towards him and all that Red could see was that one star like pin prick in his eye. Tiny and sharp as it accessed him. Tried to read him. All he could say was good luck in that.

“coulda called.” Sans shrugged at that and turned his attention forward towards the shelves of drinks, the orange and purple lights cascading across his skull. Eyes half lidded as he seemed to consider something.

"why green?" Sans suddenly asked, sliding his bottle between his hands. 

"better than shit brown or piss yellow." Red muttered with a flatness to his voice that had Sans snorting, smile stretching.

"was it that crappy of a situation?" It was Red's turn to snort as he dumped back half his drink. 

"yeah, it was a real dump." Their laughter died down in to quietness again and Sans slipped back into that contemplating face. Eyes squinted lazily, and smile flat but there. He wasn't present with that look, but he was there.

"red? why don't you just come with?" Sans murmured over the top of his drink, eyes becoming less sharp as they skirted around the room. "you know when they happen, so why not just show up since you know you're invited."

A draw of silenced and he breathed. "because i'm not welcomed." More silence and that contemplating face again. The pressure of having the Judge thinking things over in your presence. Something he had done multiple times just to scare people.

Red turned to his own drink again as he watch Grillbz, Grillby, and Muffs conversed at the other end of the bar. Someone might be getting kicked out, if the white tinge to Grillbz’s flames said anything about that.

Sans seemed to take notice of the same thing and winced at the site. “we should scat.”

“wh-.” Sans grabbed his arm and he was suddenly pulled through a short cut. Light leading into darkness, and then never back out again. Though it wasn’t the void kinda darkness, that was pure black, this was like that staticky darkness that was around when you closed your eyelids. That and a shift of his foot had something rolling away from him, hitting off some object or wall. His guess was Sans's bedroom.

Though, through it all he could only stare at those eyes lights staring back, blown wide and showing their own staticky nature. Like pools of stars floating in white. The darkness around them deep and he had to breath just for a moment. Just to get air into his fuzzy thoughts.

“sans?” He breathed, quietly, the dimness of the room demanding silence.

“yeah.” Just as quiet, tiny, and he had to wonder how his own eye-lights looked. Had to wonder if is was as suffocating as Sans’s were. If the red affected them in any way.

“why do ya stay?” He never knew his voice could get that small, that such silence could sound so loud. Never knew that hearing someone else breath could be so intoxicating. That those eyes could ever be looked away from.

“because…” The Darkness was wrapping it’s hands around his neck, so suffocating, but comforting. “it’s you.”

The darkness closed in and those lights only seemed to grow. To grow until they surround him. Till there was nothing but him. Them. This.

“and that’s reason enough.”

Till those stars were falling and he felt like he was floating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote the very first two sentences out a very long time ago, and well I read it today and had this cute idea, so here it is. I might use those lines again somewhere else, so I guess their just the writing prompt for this though.

**Author's Note:**

> I'll take requests, just no smut please, the most you'll get is extreme kissing.
> 
> Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/amberasters


End file.
